What works best? Gordon's. What works best that I can do? On Nick's 12s, I try to take advantage of the amazing volume, attack, sustain and bass response. This means a light touch on the strings, and letting some notes just hang in the air longer than I would on a 6 (or anybody else's 12, for that matter). I might hit a note, go to the kitchen, make a sandwich, eat it, have a soda, and then come back for the next note. That's SUSTAIN.

The other thing I try to do is use the octave courses to my advantage, and angle my hand so that I pick up just the high note when I want it, or emphasize the high note more than the low, so that I have much more flexibility within a hand position. That probably holds for any 12 string.

Dan